1988: The Mexican comic book and telenovela El pecado de Oyuki (Oyuki’s Sin) was inspired by Madama Butterfly.

1988: David Henry Hwang writes the play Butterfly, the story of a French diplomat and a Chinese opera singer, and it runs almost 800 performances and wins the Tony Award for Best Play that year.

1987: The film Fatal Attractionstarring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close makes several references to Madame Butterfly, and the soundtrack features extracts from the opera.

1984: British Pop impresario Malcolm McLarenwrote and performed a UK hit single based on the opera.

1974: Madama Butterfly, a German television adaptation of the opera is produced.

1954: Madame Butterfly, a screen adaptation of the opera is aired.

1940: Ochō Fujin no Gensō “Madame Butterfly’s illusion”, a Japanese animationfilm, is released.

1932: Madame Butterfly, a black and white non-singing drama was made by Paramountstarring Sylvia Sidney and Cary Grant.

1931: Concise Chōchō-sanwas done by the Takarazuka Revue.

1922: A silent color film, The Toll of the Sea, based on the opera/play was released.

1919 a silent film version (titled Harakiri) was directed by Fritz Lang.

1915: A silent film versionwas directed by Sidney Olcott and starred Mary Pickford.

Success follows Butterfly however and wherever it is told: from at least seven movie adaptations, to a Weezer album titled Pinkerton which was loosely based on the opera, few stories capture the imagination and inspire as many translations, here are just a few: Today it is one of the most beloved staples in the operatic repertoire around the world.

Three months after this disastrous debut, and still enamored with the story, he revised the opera and it was a massive success. Puccini had been inspired by a short play he watched in London and fell in love with in 1900. Perhaps the most famous recreation is Giacomo Puccini’s opera, which was ridiculed by critics and booed by the audience in 1904.

Indeed, in the 118 years since John Luther Long published the short story, Madame Butterfly, it has been adapted into every single entertainment medium and captured the hearts of hundreds of millions. “The beauty of this story is that it resonates around the world,” said Houston Ballet Artistic Director, Stanton Welch.

Madame Butterfly: The Story of Adaptation

French play puccini opera